Secure Messaging Diabetes Self‐Management and the Importance of Patient Autonomy: A Mixed Methods Study

摘要

Diabetes is a complex, chronic disease that requires patients’ effective self‐management between clinical visits; this in turn relies on patient self‐efficacy. The support of patient autonomy from health care providers is associated with better self‐management and greater diabetes self‐efficacy. Effective provider‐patient secure messaging (SM) through patient portals may improve disease self‐management and self‐efficacy. SM that supports patients’ sense of autonomy may mediate this effect by providing patients ready access to their health information and better communication with their clinical teams. We examined the association between health care team‐initiated SM and diabetes self‐management and self‐efficacy, and whether this association was mediated by patients’ perceptions of autonomy support from their health care teams.